Bruceville-Eddy is a city in McLennan and Falls counties in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. Its population was 1,413 at the 2020 census. Most of the city is in McLennan County and is part of the

Waco Waco ( ) is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a U.S. census estimated 2024 population of 146,608, making i ...

metropolitan statistical area. A small southern portion is in Falls County.

Geography

Bruceville-Eddy is located in southwestern McLennan County and is situated along

Interstate 35 Interstate 35 (I-35) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route. It stretches from Laredo, Texas, near the Mexican bo ...

, south of

and north of

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

. Access is available from Exit 315 (the Eddy or southern end of town) and Exit 318 (the Bruceville or northern end).

Texas State Highway 7 State Highway 7 (SH 7) is an east–west state highway in the U.S. state of Texas that runs from Interstate 35 at Eddy to U.S. Highway 84 about west of the Louisiana state line. Between Crockett and Nacogdoches, SH 7 passes ...

leads east from Exit 315 to

Marlin Marlins are fish from the family Istiophoridae, which includes between 9 and 11 species, depending on the taxonomic authority. Name The family's common name is thought to derive from their resemblance to a sailor's marlinspike. Taxonomy T ...

. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , all land.

History

The community of Bruceville-Eddy began as two separate settlements: Bruceville and Eddy. Both communities became stations on the

Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad The Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad was a Class I railroad company in the United States, with its last headquarters in Dallas, Texas. Established in 1865 under the name Union Pacific Railroad (UP), Southern Branch, it came to serve an exten ...

(Katy Railroad) in 1882.

Bruceville

Bruceville was named for Lucien N. Bruce, who donated land for the railroad station. Most of Bruceville's residents came from the community of Mastersville, located two miles to the north, that the railroad had bypassed. By 1900, Bruceville had approximately 289 residents and several businesses. An independent school district was formed in 1904. A bank operated in Bruceville from 1907 to 1927. The community had a population around 500 during the 1930s and 1940s, but began to decline in the postwar years. By 1964, the number of inhabitants had fallen to 175 and decreased to just 25 in 1970.

Eddy

Initially known as "Marvin", the community was renamed after the railroad arrived in 1882, to honor rail division superintendent Everett B. Eddy. By the mid-1880s, the community was home to 150 people, three general stores, two churches, a school, and a

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that h ...

. Throughout the 1890s, Eddy continued to experience rapid growth, with some estimates placing the total population as high as 700. A bank opened in 1901 and received a national charter in 1915. In 1928, the schools in Bruceville and Eddy were consolidated, the first such merger in McLennan County. By the late 1920s, Eddy had roughly 450 residents. The population declined to 350 by the mid-1940s, but rose to around 600 in the 1960s as road improvements made commuting easier for locals.

Incorporation

In April 1974, the communities of Bruceville and Eddy incorporated as a single entity known as Bruceville-Eddy. The population stood at 1,038 in 1980 and grew slightly to 1,075 by 1990. That figure rose further, to 1,490, by 2000. Owing to its unique history, Bruceville-Eddy operated two separate post offices after it was incorporated. Eddy's post office, located at 100 Franklin Road, operates under the ZIP code 76524. The post office in Bruceville was located at 203 First Street and had the ZIP code 76630. On June 1, 2009, it was closed due to foundation problems that caused the building to be deemed unsafe. All postal operations were transferred to Eddy.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,413 people, 604 households, and 412 families residing in the city. As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, 1,490 people, 543 households, and 432 families were residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was 460.8 people/sq mi (178.1/km). The 587 housing units averaged 181.5/sq mi (70.2/km). The racial makeup of the city was 89.73% White, 0.81% African American, 0.67% Native American, 0.07% Asian, 6.51% from other races, and 2.21% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 10.34% of the population. Of the 543 households, 37.2% had children under 18 living with them, 65.0% were married couples living together, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.4% were not families. About 18.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.74, and the average family size was 3.10. The city's age distribution was 29.7% under 18, 5.9% from 18 to 24, 30.3% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 12.3% who were 65 or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.6 males. The median household income was $36,089, and the median family income was $39,766. Males had a median income of $30,139 versus $19,125 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $15,642. About 9.4% of families and 11.8% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 16.8% of those under age 18 and 9.9% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The city of Bruceville-Eddy is served by the Bruceville-Eddy Independent School District.

Notable person

* Tony Duran (1945–2011), musician who served in

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestra ...

's backing band

References

External links

City of Bruceville-Eddy official website
* {{authority control Cities in McLennan County, Texas Cities in Falls County, Texas Cities in Texas